GURPS probably owes more to Hero than to TFT. While TFT was certainly a learning experience for the designer of GURPS, I'd hesitate to say it's a direct ancestor, any more than an Apple IIe is a direct ancestor of an iPhone. I played a lot of TFT . . . and when I started playing GURPS, the only thing that made me think of TFT was the name "Steve Jackson" on the cover.

Hmm, that's very interesting. GURPS felt more to me like an even blend of concepts from TFT and Hero concepts, especially as I started GURPS with Man to Man. In particular, the small set of core attributes, the way you rolled success and damage rolls, and the flow of the combat system (and later, the magic system in Fantasy) all had much more of a TFT than Hero feel to me.

Then again, Hero itself does look a bit like a highly evolved TFT game, so there you go...

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I expect Steve might want fulfill his original vision of a high-budget boxed TFT set with good production values, cardboard heroes, tactical maps, etc. using Kickstarter...

I don't know whether or not expanding the TFT line with new material (e.g., new adventures, or a science fiction or post-apocalypse setup, or material for Cidri) would be sensible, but it would certainly be interesting...

I wonder if we might see a "GURPS Cidri" world setting - it would fit well with Infinite Worlds and due to its highly open ended nature, could even be a good "background world" for Dungeon Fantasy. And there were elements in Cidri that I always found interesting - in particular, the implied magical academy in Wizard intro fiction, the giant size of the world, and the multiversal background that recalled things like World of the Tiers and Dying Earth. Also, it had a few creatures that every game needs. Prootwaddles!

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"In the Labyrinth" (1980?) appears to contain one of first published uses of the term "Tank" as a term to describe a melee fighter in a fantasy game. Was it already current in gaming slang at the time?

That was the first time I remember encountering it. I always chuckle when my video gamer friends would use the term, given its apparent obscure heritage.

I would definitely pop for a Cidri Worldbook, whether it was GURPS or TFT (though, frankly, I'd prefer TFT). And all the things that others have mentioned about Cidri that made it memorable are exactly what I liked too.

On a lot of the house rules, I always went for KISS as much as possible. Thus, instead of using ST to power Spells, I had Wizards use "mana" points until they ran out, when they could THEN use ST to power them. How did they get Mana Points? IQ = number of Mana Points available. Simple. (Plus, it encouraged Wizards to plus up their IQs more.) If they ran out of mana, they could use their internal ST to still cast, but as with any other ST loss, it potentially took days to recover from. Mana recovered at the rate of 1 point every 30 minutes of uninterrupted rest. A similar system was used for people who wanted to play D&D-like "Clerics." Instead of mana, they used "Favor" (from their god(s)) which worked exactly like Mana, except it could only be recovered by praying -- 1 point per 30 minutes of uninterrupted prayer. ST batteries then became Mana pools or blessed items with a favor bonus...at the very least, it added atmosphere to the game!

In short, there are lots of different ways to approach these things. Almost all of my house rules were designed to overcome the attribute inflation problem that confronted everyone if they played a campaign that lasted long enough (and the characters survived that long!).

I am evenly split on the question of chipboard "Cardboard Heroes" of flat counters.

A roll-up vinyl gaming mat printed with a mega-hex grid would be a great thing too. I have a couple of regular hex mat gaming mats, but would love one with megahexes.

Both of those would be cool.

If we got new painted counters or cardboard heroes, it would be nice to see them reflect the funky 70s style of the originals. Those Wizard and Melee silhouettes had a very interesting fashion style (flaring trousers, etc.)

Also, I really liked the TFT dragon counter designs, with their vaguely insectoid heads and wings, and barbed tails. To the extent that I actually wrote them up as a race for Traveller after my TFT campaign ended...

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Is love like the bittersweet taste of marmalade on burnt toast?

I would definitely pop for a Cidri Worldbook, whether it was GURPS or TFT (though, frankly, I'd prefer TFT). And all the things that others have mentioned about Cidri that made it memorable are exactly what I liked too.

On a lot of the house rules, I always went for KISS as much as possible. Thus, instead of using ST to power Spells, I had Wizards use "mana" points until they ran out, when they could THEN use ST to power them. How did they get Mana Points? IQ = number of Mana Points available. Simple. (

Yeah, that's viable, and I remember using a version that worked something like it as well.

(Well, if SJ doesn't end up modifying it, I guess that will just keep these boards busy with TFT house rules, which will also be fun...)

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Is love like the bittersweet taste of marmalade on burnt toast?